Unit 5

• PRINT
• Ethics in Law Enforcement
  INTRODUCTION
  
  • Competency 1: Dissect criminal justice ethical issues and practices.
  • Competency 4: Articulate how personal biases affect ethical approaches to criminal justice dilemmas.
  • Competency 5: Communicate effectively in writing.
  • Ethics in Law Enforcement
    Controversial issues regarding police methods are abstract, but for individual officers who are faced with dilemmas regarding what they should do in certain situations, the questions are much more immediate. To resolve them, the individual should look to legal holdings, departmental policies, and finally, ethical rationales. Utilitarian reasoning is used to justify many actions, but the question remains whether it is ever ethical to achieve a good end through bad acts. How one resolves the dilemmas involved in policing has everything to do with whether law enforcement officers are seen fundamentally as crime fighters or as public servants.TOGGLE DRAWERREAD FULL INTRODUCTIONOBJECTIVES
    To successfully complete this learning unit, you will be expected to:
  1. Analyze the ethical issues and ramifications of actions by a criminal justice professional in a specific scenario.
  2. Evaluate the ethical impact of waiting to see what happens and dealing with the aftermath in a specific situation.
  3. Explain how partaking in even small gratuities can lead to further misconduct and even corruption.
  4. Explore how a police officer should respond if a merchant insists on providing a free meal or service to law enforcement.
  5. Describe whether it is more difficult for rookie officers to deal with ethical situations versus veteran officers.
  6. Assess how to respond as a police officer if put in a situation involving gratuities.
• LEARNING ACTIVITIESCollapse All
• Toggle Drawer[u05s1] Unit 5 Study 1
  Studies
  Readings
  In your Ethical Dilemmas and Decisions in Criminal Justice text, read the following:
  • Chapter 6, “Police Discretion and Dilemmas,” pages 145–180.
    • This chapter provides an overview of policymaking in criminal justice, balancing law and justice, and the criminal justice professional and leadership and training.
  • Chapter 7, “Police Corruption and Responses,” pages 181–223.
    • This chapter provides an overview of types of police corruption and misconduct.
  • Media
    View the Ethical Reactions in Law Enforcement presentation. You will use this media for the assignment in this unit.Optional Internet Resources
    The following Web resources may be useful for your activities in this unit:
  • Roufa, T. (n.d.). Ethics in law enforcement and policing: What the public expects from police and how officers can deliver. About.com.
  • Cartwright, G. (2010). Perspective: Maintaining ethical behavior. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin.
  • EthicsinPolicing.com.
  • US. Department of Justice. (n.d.). COPS.
  • International Association of Chiefs of Police.
• Toggle Drawer[u05a1] Unit 5 Assignment 1
  Ethical Reactions in Law Enforcement
  Competencies Addressed in This Assignment
  
  • Competency 1: Dissect criminal justice ethical issues and practices.
  • Competency 2: Apply human rights standards.
  • Competency 5: Communicate effectively in writing.
  • Overview
    In this unit, you have explored some of the ways that police use authority, power, persuasion, and force. All of those rights are reflected in the need for police to act in their capacity of law enforcement officers to fight crime. Those rights are acknowledged to be appropriate when needed to take a suspect of a crime into custody. Lately, however, the headlines have been full of situations in which police are being viewed as having exceeded their rights. Police forces, local governments, and even society as a whole are now faced with deciding when force is excessive and whether certain actions are unethical, racist, and even illegal.Instructions
    For this assignment, review the Ethical Reactions in Law Enforcement media. Explain what you would do as a criminal justice professional in this situation.In your paper:
  • Explore the ethical issues associated with shooting at the driver.
  • Analyze the ethical ramifications of shooting at the driver’s tires.
  • Evaluate the ethical impact of waiting to see what happens and dealing with the aftermath.
  • Requirements
    Your paper should meet the following requirements:
  • Written communication: Must be free of errors that detract from the overall message.
  • References: Support your ideas and opinions with appropriate resources.
  • APA formatting: Format resources and citations as per current APA style and formatting guidelines.
  • Length of paper: Three pages, not including the title page and the references page.
  • Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.
  • You are required to submit a draft of your paper to SafeAssign. Once you review your results and make any needed changes, submit your paper for grading.Be sure to review the Ethical Reactions in Law Enforcement Scoring Guide to ensure you understand the criteria for this assignment.Note: Your instructor may also use the Writing Feedback Tool to provide feedback on your writing. In the tool, click the linked resources for helpful writing information.Resources
  • Ethical Reactions in Law Enforcement Scoring Guide.